Behind the Eight Ball
by klasiccat
Summary: Steph meets a former Merry Man who comes back into the fold after a 4 year absence. Babe HEA, warning for language only.


A/N: This story is dedicated to Kate (CSK) who discovered Bones in the 'Character Profile' of _High Five _and gave me the personal challenge of finding him in the book. (If memory serves, he's mentioned on page 99 towards the bottom of the page.) Since JE only gave him a name, Kate asked me to create a man to go with the name.

So folks, we now have a new MM to play with. And since Bones is VERY sociable, feel free to invite him over anytime!

Basic stuff: JE owns them, including Bones (even if it is in name only.)

**Behind the Eight Ball**

"Well, I'll be damned. Look who's back," Woody drawled as he watched the monitor. He was pulling the late night shift on the monitors with Junior and couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Who?" Junior scooted his chair over to see who was on the screen. "Is that who I think it is?" Junior said a bit shocked.

"Sure the hell is." Woody was smiling and shaking his head. He hadn't seen McGregor in over four years.

"I heard he was getting out. Cal was talking about it the other day in the lunchroom. The lawyers got him off. About damned time too, if you ask me. Santos didn't seem too happy about it though. Did something go down between those two I don't know about?" Junior couldn't see Lester Santos having a problem with any of the Rangeman team. Santos was just too easy going.

"Nah, those two are cool. It's just that Santos now has competition, if you know what I mean." Woody smiled and wagged his eyebrows at Junior, causing his partner to snort in response. Lester Santos was a player but he had nothing on Sean "Bones" McGregor. The man oozed charisma. He had black, wavy hair that fell to his shoulders and bright green eyes which sparkled with mischief and a body that had been hand-molded by the gods. But it was his voice that had women worshiping at his feet. Born and raised in Ireland for the first ten years of his life, he still sported a mild accent which gave his voice a certain sex appeal no red-blooded, American man could touch.

Woody and Junior watched the Irishman enter the elevator and select the fourth floor. When he settled against the back wall, he looked up at the camera and gave a small nod of acknowledgement.

"Do you think he's back for good or just visiting?" Junior asked. He hadn't heard of any personnel changes but that didn't mean much. These were all military men who were used to things changing on the fly. The mantra 'learn to overcome and adapt' had been properly beaten into every single one of them.

"Who knows? But it looks like he's going to be bunking with Cal for at least tonight." Woody watched as McGregor headed for Cal's apartment. Once there, he gave two sharp knocks. When Cal opened the door, he grabbed his friend's hand and gave him a 'man hug' then patted his back as ushered his visitor inside.

"Well," Woody started, "tomorrow ought to be interesting as hell."

"Yeah, no shit. Can't wait to see what happens when Bomber gets a load of him." Junior chuckled and shook his head. Woody was right, tomorrow was definitely going to be interesting.

The next morning when Ranger and Stephanie arrived at work together, they discovered half the Rangeman staff congregating in the control room, talking and laughing.

"I don't remember ordering a party for today." Ranger's booming voice bounced off the walls of the control room and all conversation stopped.

"Well, maybe you should have," came a mild Irish drawl from amidst the sea of Merry Men.

Stephanie let out a slight gasp. She was surprised by the fact that she didn't recognize the voice and that the owner of said mystery voice had the balls to speak to Ranger like that. She stole a sideways glance at Ranger and was stunned to see a small smile playing at his lips.

"Well, I'll be damned. Look what the cat dragged in." Ranger began to approach the group of men and, as if on cue, they stepped aside to reveal their Irish guest.

"More like your lawyers, my friend." Bones pushed himself off the desk he'd been leaning on and met Ranger half way across the floor. They embraced each other in a man-hug, smacking each other soundly on the back.

"It's good to see you, Bones," Ranger said, as they pulled apart.

"Aye, it's good to be seen. And the scenery here has improved a fair lot, might I add." The Irishman turned his attention to Stephanie and smiled a brilliant smile, all gleaming perfect, white teeth and green eyes twinkling with mischief. He was taller than Ranger but not quite as bulky and his wavy, black hair framed a face that could make the angles cry. Stephanie was mesmerized. She stood rooted to the floor, trapped by a laughing green gaze that held her there. Somewhere from the back, Santos groaned in disgust.

"The name's Sean McGregor. Bones to my friends," he drawled as he picked up Stephanie's hand. As he bent his head down, his black hair fell forward and brushed Stephanie's hand as he kissed it. Steph's head got a little fuzzy and her hand tingled where his lips met her skin. A few gasps and 'oh shit's' softly rang out. Bones ignored them and a growling Ranger. "You must be the fair Stephanie these mongo saps have been gushing on about."

"Mongo saps?" Stephanie was confused by the term.

"That's Irish for 'morons' Babe," Ranger explained, pulling her away from Bones and forcing him to let go of her hand.

Stephanie snorted in laughter. She was going to have to remember that one. Something told her that if this McGregor guy hung around long enough, he could teach her all sorts of new, colorful insults.

"Well, Mr. McGregor, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Even though Stephanie had left the Burg, her manners were still impeccable.

"Mr. McGregor is me father, lass. Call me Bones. All my friends do." His accent was hypnotizing. Stephanie could listen to him for hours.

"Bones? That's an interesting name. How'd you get it?" Steph knew there had to be a story behind it. There always was.

"From breaking them," he answered.

"Yours or someone else's?" Stephanie inquired. Her response was a cocky grin. "That figures," she said, rolling her eyes. She looked up at Ranger and said, "Well, add one more Merry Man to the list."

"Babe."

"Merry Man?" It was Bones' turn to inquire.

"Long story, man." Tank had come up behind Bones and grasped his shoulder. "It's what Bomber lovingly refers to us 'mongo saps' as. Personally, I like her term better than yours." Tank gently shoved Bones which knocked him off balance and caused him to stumble.

When Bones recovered, he looked at Stephanie. "Bomber? Ah yes, the explosions."

"They weren't my fault!" Stephanie cried out. This got a round of laughter from the guys so she did what any self-respecting Jersey woman would do and flipped them off. That got a bark of laughter from Ranger. Stephanie just rolled her eyes and gave up. Sometimes, there was just no winning with this group.

"So, are you coming back for good or what?" Bobby asked.

"Aye, if the boss man will still have me." Bones answered. All eyes turned to Ranger.

"I told you that when you got out your job would be waiting for you and I meant it." Ranger was a man of his word and everyone knew it.

"Much appreciated, Ranger." Bones tipped his head to Ranger and Ranger returned the gesture.

"Got out? Got out of where, exactly?" Stephanie figured she knew the answer but wanted to hear it anyway.

"Prison. I was wrongly accused of a murder rap four years ago. The lawyers finally got the witness to fess up that he lied about seeing the whole thing. Come to find out, he'd been higher than a kite that night and would have said Elvis whacked that girl if he thought it would get his drug charges dropped, the damned piss artist gobshite."

Stephanie's eyes widen a bit as she looked to Ranger, secretly asking for another translation.

"Stupid drunk," Ranger offered. Stephanie had to choke back her laughter. The guys, however, weren't as polite and openly snickered at the unique way Bones had with the English language.

"Ah, piss on the lot of ya," Bones spat out. That only made the men laugh harder.

"Something tells me we're not going to get a hell of a lot done today," Ranger sighed.

"Ah, come on Ranger. This calls for a celebration," Stephanie said as she wrapped her arms around Ranger's waist. "It's not everyday you get one of your own back."

"Aye, lass. Truer words have never been spoken." Bones' voice was soft and serious. The military reference had not been lost on him or any other man in the room.

Bones and Ranger's eyes locked and a shared memory passed between them. They had served together in the Army Rangers and had lost many friends; friends who would never make it back.

Ranger looked down at Stephanie and smiled. Then he kissed her lightly, not something he often did in front of his men. It usually elicited whistles and cat calls when he did and this time was no exception. Ranger raised his head and leveled a stare at his men. This immediately shut them up.

"I see you haven't lost your touch, my friend," Bones drawled. Ranger shot him a glare and Bones just smiled in return.

"I'll make a deal with you all. You get yours asses back to work and I won't beat the shit out of you." Ranger's face was dead blank and nobody in the room breathed for several moments. "Then we'll knock off early and take this party to Shorty's." The entire room burst into cheers.

Ranger smiled and shook his head. When Stephanie gave him a small squeeze, he bent down and kissed her again. More whistles and cat calls ensued.

"That's it! Get to work!" Ranger bellowed. Merry Men scattered and in seconds, the control room was empty except for Ranger, Steph, Bones and Hal and Vince who were on monitor duty.

"As for you, you shit disturber," Ranger said to Bones, "see Tank and he'll partner you up and put you back on rotation."

"So I can't have my old partner back, eh?" Bones asked, looking at Stephanie with a lopsided grin.

"Cal and Steph have been a team for almost a year now and it's a good match. They work well together."

"So he told me. We could make it a threesome." Bones wagged his eyebrows at Steph and she rolled her eyes.

"I don't want you that close to her, Bones." Ranger's grip on Stephanie visibly tightened.

"Smart man, my friend." Bones said, grinning.

"Damn right. Santos is bad enough, but you…" Ranger let the sentence trail off. "Go see Tank before I beat the hell of out you."

"Yes, sir." Bones gave Ranger a half-assed salute. Then he winked at Steph. "Miss Stephanie." He turned and headed for Tank's office.

"Babe, do me a favor," Ranger said as he ran a finger down the side of her face. "Don't ever turn your back on that man."

"Is he that dangerous?" Stephanie was confused. Had she read Bones wrong? Her spidey-senses hadn't gone off and everyone else seemed so relaxed around him.

"It's not that, Babe. He's a good man. It's just that he's a class-A smartass and he's worse than Santos, if you know what I mean."

"Ah, got it. Don't worry, Batman. I think I can handle him. I'll be fine," she reassured him.

"I'm not so sure," Ranger admitted.

"Relax; he's just screwing with you because he can. You two are obviously good friends and he knows how to push your buttons. Give him a couple of days to settle down and he'll be after more accessible game."

"You've got him pegged already, don't you?" Ranger asked, smiling.

"It's what I do, remember?" She said, still holding onto his waist.

"And you do it so well, Babe." Then Ranger bent down and kissed her hard and deep.

"Jesus, will you two get a room?" Tank's baritone voice thundered through the control room.

"This is a room, a room in which I own. In fact, I own every room in this building, so fuck off!" Ranger shot back.

"Yeah, well right now I need your ass in a _different_ room so you need to disengage your tongue from that poor girl's throat and get in here." Tank didn't even wait for a response, just turned and marched back to his office.

"Sometimes I really regret giving that pain in the ass part ownership of this company," Ranger said, staring up at the ceiling.

"No you don't and he's right. We both need to get to work." Stephanie reached up and kissed him on the cheek.

"Catch you later, Babe."

"See ya, Batman."

And they both went their separate ways to face the day.

By seven o'clock that evening, most of Rangeman had descended on Shorty's, eating pizza and drinking beer by the gallons. Even Ranger partook in the greasy Italian delicacy and his beer was never empty.

"Body not a temple tonight, Batman?" Stephanie asked as she grabbed her third piece of pizza.

"Nope. I'll detox tomorrow," he said, reaching for his beer.

"It's pizza, for crissake. Not heroin." Stephanie rolled her eyes at Ranger. Sometimes, the guy just really needed to learn to lighten up.

"Well, it's definitely your drug of choice, Bomber," Tank stated as he refilled Ranger's beer. "You know I'm going to have to work that off your ass tomorrow in the gym, don't you?" Tank said with a sadistic grin.

"Not unless Ranger works it off my ass tonight in bed, you won't." With that, Stephanie grabbed her pizza, sank her teeth into it and savagely tore off a piece. She wagged her eyebrows at Tank as she chewed.

The mountain of a man just sat there, dumbfounded while the rest of the table burst out in laughter. "I can't believe you just fucking said that, Bomber," Tank said, shaking his head. Stephanie just grinned and shrugged and continued eating.

"Is that a challenge, Babe?" Ranger asked as he wrapped his arm around her.

"I don't know. Are you _up _for a challenge?" She knew she was baiting him and she watched as his eyes darkened with lust as a soft growl emanated from his chest.

"You're playing with fire, Babe." Ranger ground out.

"And your point?" she asked, reaching for the empty pitcher of beer.

"You could get burned," he growled.

"If I can't stand the heat, Ranger, then I shouldn't have gotten in your bed." The entire table burst into cheers once again. Before Ranger could recover from her statement, Stephanie turned in her seat and headed for the bar with pitcher in hand for another refill.

"Aye, lad. You sure have your hands full with that bonnie lass," Bones said as he raised his mug to Ranger.

"You have no idea, Bones." Ranger just smiled and shook his head. His life was so much better now that Stephanie was in it full time. They had finally made a commitment to each other a little over a year ago. She had given up her apartment and moved in with Ranger on the seventh floor penthouse. And life just couldn't be better.

"When are ya going to make an honest woman of her, lad?" Bones asked.

"We haven't discussed it." Ranger's tone was flat. He so did not want to have this conversation in front of his entire staff.

"Ah, I see your head is still up your arse, laddy," Bones chided. "And here I thought you lads said you helped him with that problem." Bones waved his mug at the men sitting around the table.

"Yeah well, he's got it lodged up there pretty far," Tank said, grinning. "He's made progress, but he hasn't pulled it completely out yet." Laughter, 'amen's' and 'no shit's' rippled across the table. Tank was having tremendous fun at Ranger's expense.

Ranger was not amused. "Fuck you all," he said calmly, then got up and headed for the pool tables.

The men grabbed their beers and followed Ranger to the tables. They had their boss on the run and they knew it. There was nothing like blood in the water to make grown men act like idiots.

"Come on, Ranger. What the hell are you waiting for?" Lester asked. "You know she's it for you. You two can hardly keep your hands off each other." Lester wagged his eyebrows at Ranger and Ranger just glared.

"Santos is right, man," Cal chimed in. "You're never going to find anyone else like Bomber."

"Yeah, so you might as well go for it," Bobby added.

"I am not having this discussion with any of you. Now can it! Who's up first?" Ranger slammed the pool rack onto the table. The Merry Men feigned fear, all the while laughing at him.

"Ah, come now, Ranger. It's just all in jest. No need to get your knickers in a twist," Bones said as he grasped Ranger's shoulder, his accent just a little thicker from all the beer.

"Well that would be a cute trick considering he doesn't wear any," Stephanie teased as she came up behind the guys. At that moment, Vince had taken a large swig from his beer then spewed it on the back of Hal's head at Stephanie's comment. Needless to say, Hal wasn't impressed.

"Ah fuck, man! Watch where you're spraying that shit! Dammit, now it's running down my back! Somebody get me a fucking towel!" Hal practically had to yell at the top of his lungs since the guys were laughing so hard.

"Ohmigod, Hal. I'm so sorry!" Stephanie put her pitcher down and grabbed some napkins from the table next to her and tried to dry Hal off but it was just no use. He was drenched.

"Now I smell like a damned brewery," he complained, as he peeled off his soaked shirt.

"Ah, you were going to anyway, lad. With any luck, by the end of the night we'll all be piss drunk." Bones raised his dark ale at Hal and took a long swallow.

Meanwhile, Stephanie had stopped in her tracks. She knew the guys were in terrific shape. An intense workout schedule was a job requirement. But it wasn't often that she got to see anyone besides Ranger without a shirt on and she couldn't help but stare. Hal may have been one of the more quiet of the Merry Men but he was still built and standing half naked and dripping wet in front of her.

Next thing Stephanie knew, her line of sight directly to Hal's cut chest was blocked by a large black t-shirt.

"Someone want to get Hal a towel and a clean shirt?" Ranger boomed, as he stood in front of Stephanie.

"I'm on it," Vince offered. After all, it was him that sprayed Hal in the first place.

Ranger looked down at Stephanie and smiled. "You never disappoint, Babe."

"I try not to," she said, smiling back.

Ranger kissed her on the tip of her nose and turned back towards the pool table. "Alright," he announced, "which one of you knuckleheads is going down first?"

As Ranger and Bobby agreed on their wagers, Stephanie settled herself next to her partner.

"Nice shot, Bomber," Cal said, laughing as he took a swig from his beer.

"I didn't mean for that to happen. It just sort of came out," Stephanie said a bit sheepishly.

"It was still a nice shot." Cal was still chuckling.

"That's because it wasn't you who got horked on." Hal finally got himself cleaned up and had donned a fresh shirt but he still a bit miffed.

"Relax man, and have another beer." Cal grabbed the fresh pitcher Stephanie had brought and refilled Hal's mug.

The Rangeman team spent the next two hours drinking more beer, swapping old stories and getting picked off one by one by Ranger on the pool table.

Cal excused himself for what Stephanie thought was a trip to the bathroom. However, when he returned, he had a small narrow case in his hands. Stephanie's eyes widened in fear when she recognized the case.

"Cal, what the hell are you doing?" Her question came out as a whispered hiss.

"Ranger has taken every single one of us out in the last two hours. It's time he sees what it feels like." Cal had a cocky grin on his face.

"Dammit Cal, you can't do this." Stephanie's hysteria was beginning to attract the attention of the men closest to her.

"You're right, Sweetheart. I can't. But _you_ can." And Cal held the case in front of her, grinning like the proverbial cat that just enjoyed a little snack.

"But you said you would keep this quiet," she urged. Cal just winked at her.

Stephanie looked over her shoulder at Ranger just as he won another game. He opened up his arms in a welcoming gesture and asked, "Who's next?" The cocky grin on his face made something snap inside of her.

"Give me that." And she yanked the case out of Cal's hands and began to open it.

"What's going on?" Hal asked. He'd been watching the scene unfold in front of him with great interest.

"Watch, my friend. History is about to be made." And Cal's face split into a big shit-eating grin. Stephanie pulled out two pieces of polished wood and began to assemble them. When she was finished, she held in her hand a custom made cue stick.

"I can't believe you're making me do this Cal. You promised to keep quiet about this," she grumbled as she ran a polishing cloth across the cue.

"Relax Bomber. It'll be fine," Cal assured her. She just glared at him then turned and stomped off.

"I don't know what's about to happen, but it looks like it's going to be good," Woody chimed in. He'd been watching the exchange between Cal and Bomber as well and knew something was going down.

"You have no idea." Cal returned to his beer and watched as Stephanie approached the pool table.

"I'll play you." Stephanie stood at one end of the table and directed her challenge at Ranger.

"Ha!" Lester barked out.

"And when I'm done kicking his ass, yours is next." Steph leveled one of her famous death glares at Santos and his eyes widened a bit. The rest of the men gasped in shock.

"Babe." Ranger just cocked an eyebrow at her.

Stephanie turned her attention back to Ranger and renewed her challenge. "What? I think it's about time somebody takes down the Mighty Manoso, don't you?"

"Babe, you can't beat me. I've seen you play."

"You've seen what I've _let _you see, Batman. And nothing more." Stephanie's voice was calm and cool. Ranger's eyes were wide and stunned.

The room immediately burst into chaos. Questions and shocked comments flew back and forth.

"Is she crazy challenging Ranger like that?"

"How much has that girl had to drink?"

"She can't play worth a damn!"

"Does she have a death wish?

"No body can beat Ranger!"

As pandemonium ensued, Ranger and Stephanie stared each other down, neither one giving an inch, and both with wicked grins on their faces.

"What do ya wanna bet she kicks his ass?" At Cal's question, the room stopped cold.

Lester was the first to find his voice. "No way. Ranger's unstoppable."

Cal just shrugged.

"I say if Bomber wins, then Ranger hands over all of tonight's winnings," Bobby offered.

Stephanie didn't break eye contact with Ranger. "I don't want his money," Stephanie said flatly.

"How about a shopping spree at the mall?" Vince suggested.

Still, she didn't flinch. "I get that anyway."

"I say if the lass wins, Ranger's got to man up and marry her." Leave it to the Irishman to come up with the best bet.

The room broke out in cheers. That was the best thing they'd heard all night.

"What do I get if I win, Babe?" Ranger asked, still grinning.

"You won't." She had the devil in her tonight and they both knew it.

"Humor me."

"Fine. You can have anything you want." She really didn't care.

"Anything? Are you sure about that?" It was a dangerous offer and they both knew it. She nodded her acceptance.

"So after I win, I can throw you down on this table and do you in front of everyone?" He figured that would get her.

"You could but you won't." Nothing about Stephanie was nervous or twitchy.

"And why is that, Babe?"

"Because you won't win."

The men lost their minds. No one ever threw down a challenge like that to Ranger and came out on top. It just didn't happen.

Tank finally decided to restore some order to the situation. "Alright, alright, settle down ladies." The room quieted. "The challenge has been made and the wager agreed upon. Ranger, it's your call."

"I'll allow the lady to break."

"Bomber?" Tank asked.

"Fine by me. But just make sure your rack is tight. I don't like loose and sloppy balls." Ranger's face broke out into the biggest 200-watt smile she'd ever seen.

Once again, the men went insane. They had never seen this side of Stephanie before. Some of them began to wonder if she really could beat him.

As Stephanie watched closely, Ranger racked the balls. He carefully lifted the triangle and stepped back. When satisfied with her final inspection, Stephanie chalked her cue, placed the cue ball, lined herself up and shot.

The crack of the cue ball hitting the rack reverberated throughout the room and the balls scattered across the table, the three and twelve balls sinking in the process.

"Oh, shit!" Lester couldn't believe his eyes. In fact, none of the Merry Men could believe their eyes, except Cal.

"Hey Bomber," Cal called out before Steph took her next shot, "I'll throw in a honeymoon if you can run table."

Stephanie smiled at her partner. "Done." Then she turned her attention back to the game.

Stephanie stood back and surveyed the table, analyzing her best shots, already playing three and four strokes ahead in her mind. She grabbed the chalk and applied it to the tip of her cue, called her shot then quickly sank the two ball, mostly because it was an easy shot and she wanted to get it out of the way.

"Guess I'm the pretty little solid balls, Ranger." She smiled sweetly at him and batted her eyes. His eyes were laughing and his lips tip up in a slight smile.

Stephanie called her next shot and sank another ball, the seven this time. It wasn't a terribly difficult shot but the guys were impressed nonetheless.

Stephanie was surprised that she didn't feel nervous. It had been a long time since she played in front of a large crowd but she felt good.

Stephanie's next shot was a combo. She could hit her six, bounce it off Ranger's nine and sink her one. She did exactly that. Cheers went up all around. Even some of the other patrons were beginning to gather to watch the excitement.

Stephanie stood back from the table again and chalked her cue while analyzing her shots. She shot a quick glance at Ranger. He hadn't moved from his spot nor had the calm expression he carried change. She hazarded a glance at Cal and he was grinning like a proud papa.

Riding the high of her renewed confidence, Stephanie returned her gaze to Ranger as he sat on his barstool. "I hope you're comfortable over there Ranger, because you're going to be there for awhile."

Ranger's lips twitched a little higher. Stephanie was having fun and he wasn't about to squash that.

Stephanie resumed her concentration of the game. Her next shot was going to be a little tricky. Her four and five balls were sitting side by side. If angled properly, she could hit them both and send them into two separate pockets. If not, it would be deemed an illegal shot and she would lose her run of the table.

Stephanie called her shot and carefully lined it up, making sure that the angle of her cue was just right. After making a last minute adjustment to her aim, she let fly and sank both balls.

The crowd went nuts. Everyone was cheering but Stephanie didn't let herself get caught up in the reverie. She had to maintain her concentration if she was going to do this.

Stephanie took stock of the situation. She only had one ball left, her six, before she could legally sink the eight ball. And the shot sucked. The six ball was sitting in front of a corner pocket, which was good but Ranger ten ball was blocking it, which was bad. If she hit Ranger's ball before her own, the shot would foul and she'd lose her turn. A bank shot wasn't possible because too many of Ranger's balls were in the way. Stephanie chuckled to herself as she realized that this would be the only time she would complain about that problem.

Stephanie studied the situation and knew her only option. She called the ball for the corner pocket and aimed.

"Bomber wait! You can't do that." Good ole Hal to the rescue. "You'll foul if you hit his ball first and I doubt he'll give you permission."

"I don't need his permission." With that, she angled the butt of her cue high which drove the tip down and jump shot Ranger's ball, sinking her six.

The entire place went crazy. Even Shorty had come out of the kitchen to watch his favorite little spitfire take down Ranger.

Stephanie had to block it all out; the cheers, the excitement, the words of encouragement and the side bets that were going taking place.

All she had left was the eight ball, and it was lined up fairly nicely at the other end of the table. Before she called her shot, she looked once again at Ranger. His grin was bigger now and he nodded his head as if already conceding to her victory.

It had been too easy. The whole game had really been akin to shooting fish in a barrel. Stephanie thought it was time to shake things up a bit, as if she hadn't already.

Stephanie took a step back from the table. Without taking her gaze from the felt she said, "Call the shot, Ranger." All conversation stopped.

"Babe?"

Stephanie turned her gaze to her lover. "Call the shot."

"Bomber, are you crazy? Don't let him do that. He'll call an impossible shot and you'll lose the game." Hal to the rescue again. But she didn't need to be saved. She knew what she was doing, for a change, and was fairly confident about what Ranger would do.

"Babe, you sure you want to do this?" Even Ranger looked a bit concerned. He couldn't understand why she would be willing to risk everything over one shot that she could easily make.

"Call the shot, Ranger." Stephanie grabbed the chalk and applied it to the tip of her cue.

"Fine. Eight ball side pocket."

It was a tough shot. Not only did she have to make the eight ball travel backwards from a sideward aim, but it also had to go in between two of Ranger's balls just right or it would miss the pocket and bounce off the rail. But she agreed to the shot.

The entire place was a quiet as a church. All eyes were on Stephanie and the eight ball. No one dared make a sound as she lined up her shot. She carefully aimed and let the cue stick fly.

The cue ball traveled down the side of the table and hit the eight ball, banking it off the rail, causing it to angle back slowly toward the side pocket. It passed between Ranger's eleven and fourteen balls and rested right at the edge of the pocket. Nobody breathed, except Stephanie who blew out a little breath in the direction of the side pocket. The eight ball sunk into it's intended pocket and Shorty's erupted into an explosion of shouts and cheers.

Stephanie was immediately surrounded by Merry Men, hugging her and kissing her. She caught a glimpse of Cal and saw that he was laughing and applauding. She continued to get passed from man to man until she found herself standing in front of Ranger.

"Congratulations, Babe. You never disappoint." Ranger just stood there, smiling at her.

"So Ranger, how does it feel to have your ass handed to you by a size six?" came a shout from somewhere behind Stephanie.

"Pretty damned good," Ranger replied, grinning from ear to ear.

Lester came up along side Stephanie and casually draped his arm around her shoulders. "That was pretty damned impressive, Beautiful. Care to tell us how the hell you managed to do what none of us have ever done before?"

"Lucky shots?" Yeah, like they'll believe that, she thought.

"Bullshit!" Lester spat. "Luck had absolutely nothing to do with what you just accomplished. That was all skill. All trained, and highly honed skill, skill that's taken years to perfect. Now spill it!" Lester wasn't really mad at her, but he wasn't going to accept some cock-and-bull story either.

"Santos is right, Bomber. What gives? I've never seen you play like that before either." Tank chimed in. "How did you manage to keep a secret like this from all of us?"

"Cal knew." Woody shouted from the back of the crowd. All heads turned around at that little bit of juicy news. "He put her up to it. Didn't ya, buddy?"

"Yeah, I knew. I've known for a while," Cal admitted.

"Why the hell didn't you say anything, man?" Vince asked.

"She swore me to secrecy. But I guess the cat's out of the bag now, eh Sweetheart?" Cal was just too pleased with himself.

"Yeah, no thanks to you, partner." Stephanie complained.

"You wouldn't have done it if you really didn't want to, Steph. Besides, it was fun!"

Cal was right. She did have a good time. And it felt great to just let loose and really play again.

"So? What do you have to say for yourself, Bomber?" Lester just wasn't going to let this slide. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

Cal could see that she was struggling with exactly what to say so he came to her rescue.

"Gentlemen, you are looking at the two-time WPA Juniors Champion." Cal's announcement sounded as if he were her father and not just her partner.

"WPA?" came an inquiry from the crowd.

"World Pool Association. You're looking at a pro, gentlemen." Cal smiled down at Steph and she couldn't help but smile back.

"Wow!"

"Really?"

"No shit?"

"No shit. I started playing at the Moose Lodge with my dad. I got good. Next thing I know, he's enrolling me in local tournaments and I started winning. It just snowballed from there." Steph had finally found her nerve to tell her story. "Cal found out purely by accident. We were out one day and I was pissed off over losing a skip. We ended up at some bar to blow off a little steam and there was an empty pool table. Cal talked me into playing a game. My intention was to hold back but I was so lost in thought over the skip getting away, that I didn't realize what I was doing."

Cal took over at this point. "She was making shots I'd never seen inside a bar before. It was professional level shit and she was making the them without even thinking. It was the damnedest thing I'd ever seen. When she finally realized what she was doing, she made me swear not to say anything to anyone."

"Why would you want that, Bomber?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know. I thought that if you knew I was that good, you wouldn't want to play against me anymore." Stephanie was embarrassed and wished she were somewhere else at that moment.

"So lass, why aren't you still competing?" Bones asked. If she had been that good as a kid, why wasn't she continuing her career as an adult?

Steph's spine stiffened and anger flashed across her face. "My mother didn't approve. She thought I was spending too much time playing pool and not enough time learning the finer skills of being a Burg wife. So she pulled the plug on the whole damned thing. I was a minor. I couldn't stop her. She said it was for my own good and that I would never find a decent husband inside some bar shooting pool.

"Yet, that's exactly what you've done, lass." Bones drawled. He smiled at her then turned his gaze to Ranger.

The realization of the situation finally hit Stephanie. "Um, Ranger? You know the bet was just for fun, right?" She was a little wide-eyed and finally nervous.

"I always take my wagers seriously, Babe. And I never make a wager I can't cover." He moved closer to her, reaching out and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I believe the bet was that if you won, I got to marry you. You won the game, fair and square." He bent his head a little closer to hers, nuzzling her temple.

"The bet was if I won, you _had_ to marry me." Stephanie corrected.

"I like my version better, Babe." His head inched even closer, his lips a breath away from hers.

"Ranger." Stephanie was breathless. All noise around her disappeared; all that existed for her was Ranger.

"Marry me, Babe."

"Ok."

His lips descended on hers in a hot, deep kiss and again the room exploded into cheers.


End file.
